Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-01-29
HORSES IN JAPAN.
LARGEST BREEDING FARM IN
THE WORLD.
The Imperial Pasture OF Simosa-
A Remarkable Enclosure of
Large Area Containing More
Than 100000 Horses.


is doubtful il there is now, or ever was,
q breeding establishment in any other
country that could equal the great horse
pasture of Simosa, in Japan. Nearly a
thousand years ago the main island of
the Japanese Empire was about equally
divided between the conguering race
and the aborigines. The conquerors
held the southern half and the aborlgines
the northern half. One of the reigning
Tycoons determined upon the conquest
of the aborigines, and he sent large and
well equipped army across the Hakoni
range into the aboriginal territory. After
q long war, in which there were many
bloody battles, the aborigines were de-
feated and driven north. The territory
conquered comprises all the country
around Toxic, the capital, and several
provinces still north of that. Within
the boundaries of this conquest were
what are now called the ''Plains of
Simosa" These plains we're found to
be admirably adapted to grazing. They
are about forty miles east of Toxic, be-
tween the head of the bay of Ieddo and
the ocean, and are three hundred or four
hundred feet above the sea level. They
are in fact peninsula table lands. From
these plains a considerable number OF
small streams have their source. The
larger part Of this surface is covered with
grasses, indigenous to that country,
among which are several kinds of clovers,
bunch grasses and fescue grass. At
intervals there are groves of pines, oaks,
beech and maple trees.
1t was determined to establish there
H.
could be bred and in such numbers that
their whole cavalry could be supplied
with fresh mounts at any time. Ordi-
nary Enclosures, and even subdivision
fences, could have been built with little
labor and cost; but ordinary fences would
not have met the requirements. The
Japanese population was then three hun
bred or four hundred miles south of that
point. Two hundred miles north were
the defeated but still unconquered abort
glnes, ready to poutice down upon their
invaders whenever favorable opportu.
nifty presented. Under these circum-
stances fortified fence was demanded.
To thus nclose peninsula fifty miles by
seventy miles was a gigantic work, but
| when an absolute authority, with mil
| lions of submissive people ready to obey
that authority, determines to do work
| the amount of labor involved does not
stand in the way of its accomplishment.
An imperial decree was issued, ordering
each feudal Prince in the Empire to send
| certain number of laborers to build the
] Enclosure and to make permanent settle
| mcnts there. All the lands bordering
the streams, susceptible of irrigation,
were allotted to the laborers for homes.
From every province laborers, with their
families, poured in, and in short time
$50 villages were built along the line OF
the proposed Enclosure. Crops for the
food of these workers were planted, and
the work on the fortified fences began
with impressive ceremonies, betting the
importance of this pro, ect.
The outer Enclosure was a solid earth
embankment, sixteen feet high. 1t was
built to conform to the borders of the
table lands, which on the bay and ocean
sides were very irregular These irregu-
larities increased the length of the en-
bankment, and, as the land along the
streams allotted to the settlers could not
| be included in the pasture, this great
embankment had to be run up one side OF
the stream nearly to its source and then
back again down the other side. AS
there were many of these streams the
amount of embankment was enormously
increased In book published by the
Government many years ago the length
of this outer fortified fierce or embank-
ment is stated to b. five hundred miles.
From two years residence on this table
land, riding every day through various
| Al, IL 7 ha
! lieve this statement is within the
bounds of truth After this outer en-
bankment was finished 1t was sown with
grass called "IIea," which becomes
more deeply rooted in the soil than any
other known grass. In that case the
roots ran through the whole of the
masses of earth, and have thus held them
together so firmly that the cmbankments
have not perceptibly washed or wealth
cred through all the centuries which
have interviewed since their construction.
On the top of this embankment row of
trees was planted This Enclosure formed
a very strong defense, and even if an
enemy had stormed and taken it, it
would have been impossible to get the
horses out, except at the gates, which
wore still more strongly fortified, and &
detachment of mounted troops was sta
toned at each one. At convenient points
corrals we've built, and these were made
double strong. They were built by throw
ing up embankments twenty and
even thirty feet high.
In case tie aborigines had succeeded
in getting inside the outer embankment,
the horses were to have been run into
these immense corrals and defended
there The aborigines never succeeded
in getting into the pasture, and if they
had the corrals would not have been
needed, for in few years these horses
became so wild that the whole Sioux
tribe of Indians could not have caught
them. The work of building the outer
embankment occupied many years, and
the construction of the corrals many
n ore. Then all this great plain or table
land was sub divided into smaller pas
lures containing from 500 to 1000 acres
each. The subdivision embankments
were made twelve feet high, and the au-
thority above quoted places the total
length of these $500 miles. This work
was all done by manual labor, the
earth being dug up by mattocks, put
in rope sacks and then carried to
the embankment on the backs OF
men. The best equine stock of the En-
pire was bought and brought to these
pastures. Emba ssadors were sent to
t'orea Nanchuria and China, and the